9/14/20 Journaling

I know that journaling may seem like a topic unrelated to raising up a child or restoring a marriage; but in reality, they work hand in hand because journaling only comes from quietly waiting on God. That kind of quiet – far from the din of everything we do as men - is so very important in receiving what is needed to overcome the challenges of marriage and child raising. Journaling those moments and reviewing what the Lord gives you can make an incredible difference over time.

In my research, I have found very few men who journal their quiet time with the Lord. Most say they simply don’t have the time, or that they don’t spend enough time with Him to require journaling. What an incredible indictment! That attitude is a perfect spawning ground for mediocre marriages and wayward children.

Think of this; sitting quietly with the Lord and allowing Him to minister to your spirit, give you insights into your challenges, and present you with answers and direction for your concerns. Then think about how important it would be for you to jot down all that He gives you. Now think about how important those notes and encouragements would be if you could refer to them weeks, months, or even years later.  With journaling, you have unparalleled wealth at your fingertips whenever you need it. Journaling also allows you to remember His faithfulness in times past whenever you encounter a new challenge. It’s like treasure hidden away for a later date. Got a pen?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

Open post

Broken Heart vs. Daily Survival

Is your heart breaking over those things that break the Lord’s heart? Do you care about the horrible things that are being spewed out against Him by the unknowing and uncaring? Do you see the reprobate thinking of those who will be separated from the Lord for all of eternity becoming an ever-increasing voice? Does your heart break for the aborted souls, the confused youth, the husbands and wives who have turned their children over to the enemy? Or are you too busy building your nest of comfort and missing the broken heart of Jesus instead of lamenting over the horrors that await them?

Open post

9/12/20 Time Well Spent

“I’m looking for aggressive warriors who are willing to win at My kind of warfare. I am at war against your flesh. You can win through submission to My will. When I show you your sin, repentance brings forgiveness. As I explain the truth of My Word, We overcome the lies of the enemy of your soul. Fear is removed as you see who I am. Spending time with Me is the most powerful kind of warfare. There is no way to counter these weapons and the many others that I have provided for you. Stop choosing the ways of the world. Choose My ways. I always win.”

 Psalm 127:1 AMP

Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.

Isaiah 2:22 AMP  

Cease to trust in [weak, frail, and dying] man, whose breath is in his nostrils [for so short a time]; in what sense can he be counted as having intrinsic worth?

Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

8) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

9) “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

 

I have found no better explanation of true spiritual warfare than this example from my friend, Pastor Ron Auch, who is now home with the Lord.

“Many intercessors and leaders in spiritual warfare seem to think we have to some way, somehow, “deliver” a city from spiritual oppression or past evil curses in order to have the way paved for the presence of God to come into that city. However, the goal of spiritual conflict is not to usher in the presence of God by that means. Spiritual warfare is not the way to bring in the presence of God, but quite the opposite.

"It is not the battle that ushers in the presence; but rather, it’s the presence that originates the battle. The presence of God is the starting point. Because of the presence of God, there will be war since the inhabitants of darkness cannot stand His presence. All of our strategies, banners, chants, and shouting “per se” will do no harm to the devil. In fact, we can be sure that the devil will help us do our “spiritual warfare” as long as we are replacing the presence of God with our own battle turmoil. I believe along with some others that the devil has been teaching the church how to do spiritual warfare! The Israelites marched around, shouted, sang, worshipped, broke pots, suddenly pulled out torches in the middle of the night, and fought battles in usual and unusual manners; but it was not the strategy or the activity that gave them victory. It was the presence of God who went before them. Without the presence, they would have been the most foolish army in history.”

Wanting to win Your way, Lord,

Jim Corbett

9/12/20 Getting Honest with Yourself

Men, if you are typical of the Christian man of today, you function as if you are unable to recognize your spiritual impotence to the point that you do not desire to see the character of Christ reproduced completely in you or in those around you as your priority in life.  As a typical Christian man, you have chosen to set aside God’s desire for your life in order to fulfill your own concept of what your life should be, or maybe just survive in an incredibly difficult world. You feel that you are spiritually comfortable and adequate, and see no need to consistently act as Jesus would act and love as He would love in your family.

Like a gelded horse that no longer has an interest in mares, most of you have little Christ-like spiritual enthusiasm toward the people within your circle of influence or for your part in God’s plan for mankind. Remember, we are talking priorities. If you would really get honest with yourself, your thoughts are not continually on where others will spend eternity or on who they could become in this lifetime through your influence on them by the way you represent Jesus. Even the spiritual well-being of your family, those God has entrusted to you as His steward, falls somewhere behind economic challenges, your job demands, the home and yard work, the toys you want to acquire, and the sports teams you idolize. If this is you, you are impotent in discerning the things that are important to God.

As an example of your impotence, if you sports fans would also get honest with yourself, you’d admit you focus more on whatever teams you follow than on the spiritual condition of your wife and children. Even if you do care about their spirituality, you probably have little ability, little desire, and few tools to foster their spiritual growth, to do whatever it takes to have them able to present a significant life to God. If you are not that heavy into sports, you can substitute the word “sports” with any other personal god, such as worry, fear, work, success, money, or worldly power, etc., to which you’ve pledged your allegiance.

[Even attempting to gain a significant life for your own good shows your spiritual impotence.]

If you take that same “getting honest with yourself” and carry it further to the point of getting honest with God, you will have to admit that the things that are important to God have been placed somewhere behind the things that give you some semblance of purpose for your life here, not eternally. Focusing on your personal fulfillment for so long, you may have actually become impotent in even discerning the things that are important to God.

Think of the eternal impact of those last statements if they are true for your life. Ask the Lord to reveal how accurate they might be for you. They may not be exactly where you stand with God; but more than likely, they’re quite close to the spiritual impotence you experience every day, if you are like Christian men in general. To whatever degree you are dealing with spiritual impotence in your life, the sooner you realize and admit it, the sooner you will be on your way to a significant, world-overcoming life in God’s eyes.

(From The Father Factor by Jim and Merry Corbett)

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

Open post

The World is Big and God is Small, Right?

No! No! No! Every facet of today's world is clamoring for you to focus on its next urgent message, whether it be news, pandemic, money, or safety. You name it, and it's calling for your attention. The world and its ways have one agenda - to appear to be bigger and more important than intimacy with God in your eyes.

Don't fall for it. The most important message you can hear in today's world is that Father God is in charge. Nothing else! All that you see, all that is screaming for you to focus on it is dead and dying.

Your place as a believer is on the lap of your Father God as He whispers truth to you. There is no safer place, and no words more important than His words of comfort to your heart. That is the place won for you at the cross. That is the place where you will remember Who God really is and how small the world is. It's time to see things from God's perspective.

Posts navigation

1 2 3 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 800 801 802
Scroll to top